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85th Flying Training Squadron
The 85th Flying Training Squadron (85 FTS) is part of the 47th Flying Training Wing based at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. It operates T-6 Texan II aircraft conducting flight training. History The 85th was first activated as a bombardment squadron shortly before the United States entered World War II. Stationed at McChord Field, Washington it flew antisubmarine patrols following the attack on Pearl Harbor.85 FTS Fact Sheet The squadron was sent to North Africa to participate in Allied operations in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations in late 1942 where it specialized in conducting low-level bombing missions against enemy forces. The unit earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for actions against German forces at Kasserine Pass in February 1943. Following the Axis defeat in North Africa the 85th participated in the reduction of Pantellaria and Lampedusa and the invasion of Sicily in the summer of 1943. The squadron next supported the British Eighth Army during the invasion of Italy and continued to led support combat support throughout the Italian Campaign, earning it a second Distinguished Unit Citation for actions in the Po Valley 21–24 April 1945. In August and September 1944 the 85th briefly broke off from the Italian Campaign to support the invasion of southern France. Following the Second World War the squadron remained an active bomber unit. It was the first squadron to operate the B-45 Tornado, the US Air Force's first jet bomber. It later transitioned to the B-66 Destroyer before being inactivated in May 1962. The squadron was reactivated a decade later as a Flying Training Squadron, replacing the 3645th Pilot Training Squadron at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. Operations *World War II Lineage *85th Bombardment Squadron (Light) (1940–1943) *85th Bombardment Squadron, Light (1943–1946) *85th Bombardment Squadron, Light (Night Attack) (1946–1948) *85th Bombardment Squadron, Light, Jet (1948–1950) *85th Bombardment Squadron, Light (1950–1955) *85th Bombardment Squadron, Tactical (1955–1972) *85th Flying Training Squadron (1972–Present) Assignments *47th Bombardment Group (1941–1949) *12th Air Force (1949–1950) *Tactical Air Command (1950–1951) **Attached: 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (1949–1951) *47th Bombardment Wing (1951–1962) *47th Flying Training Wing (1972–Present) Stations *McChord Field, Washington (1941) *Fresno, California (1941–1942) *Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma (1942) *Greensboro, North Carolina (1942) * Mediouna Airfield, French Morocco (1942–1943) *Thelepte Airfield, Tunisia (1943) * Youks-les-Bains Airfield, Algeria (1943) * Canrobert Airfield, Algeria (1943) * Souk-el-Arba Airfield, Tunisia (1943) * Soliman Airfield, Tunisia (1943) *Malta (1943) *Sicily (1943) *Grottaglie, Italy (1943) * Vincenzo Airfield, Italy (1943–1944) *Vesuvius Airfield, Italy (1944) *Capodichino, Italy (1944) *Ponte Galeria, Italy (1944) *Ombrone Airfield, Italy (1944) *Poretta, Corsica (1944) *Salon, France (1944) *Follonica, Italy (1944) * Rosignano Airfield, Italy (1944) *Grosseto, Italy (1944–1945) *Pisa, Italy (1945) *Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina (1945) *Lake Charles Army Air Field, Louisiana (1945–1946) *Biggs Field, Texas (1946–1948) *Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana (1948–1949) *Langley Air Force Base, Virginia (1949–1952) *RAF Sculthorpe, England (1952–1962) *Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas (1972–Present) Aircraft Operated *B-18 Bolo (1941–1942) *DB-7 Boston (1941–1942) *A-20 Havoc (1941–1945) *B-26 Marauder (1945–1949, 1950–1951) *B-45 Tornado (1949–1957) *B-66 Destroyer (1958–1962) *T-37 Tweet (1972–2004) *T-6 Texan II (2004–Present) References Notes Bibliography External links *USAF 85th Flying Training Squadron History *85th Flying Training Squadron Fact Sheet See also Category:Military units and formations in Texas Flying Training 0085